Versor Investments LP Buys Shares of 12,300 Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $706,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Eversource Energy by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 40,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 9,981 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $744,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,735,901 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $99,554,000 after buying an additional 510,582 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 31,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,151,000 after buying an additional 10,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its stake in Eversource Energy by 125.2% during the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 8,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Eversource Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ES traded down $1.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,756,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,199,425. The firm has a market cap of $22.12 billion, a PE ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.41. Eversource Energy has a one year low of $54.75 and a one year high of $69.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 6.82%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.7525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Eversource Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 130.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,496.46. The trade was a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total transaction of $61,730.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,318.26. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ES shares. StockNews.com downgraded Eversource Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Profile

Eversource Energy, a public utility holding company, engages in the energy delivery business. The company operates through Electric Distribution, Electric Transmission, Natural Gas Distribution, and Water Distribution segments. It is involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity; solar power facilities; and distribution of natural gas.